AscendEX Halts Operations, Freezes Automated Withdrawals

Crypto exchange AscendEX ceased operations effective July 1, 2026, and moved all withdrawal requests to manual review starting July 6, according to a notice posted on its website addressed to retail account holders.

The exchange cited the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which took full effect July 1 and under which AscendEX holds no authorization, alongside broader "regulatory, financial and operational considerations," the notice said. Customers can no longer open accounts, deposit, trade, swap, stake or lend on the platform; access is now limited to offboarding tasks such as withdrawal requests, KYC updates and transaction-history exports.

Withdrawals Under Review

Automated withdrawals are paused, with all requests subject to manual review covering KYC/AML, sanctions checks, fraud prevention and balance reconciliation, AscendEX said. The company said it "is not in a position to give assurances about timing or amounts," and that withdrawals may be delayed, blocked pending further information, or not processed at all while the review continues.

AscendEX said it had relied on "an agreed strategic transaction that was to provide liquidity to grow the platform," and that the unnamed counterparty "did not perform," compounded by broader crypto market conditions. The company said it is now assessing its financial position and "considering what options, if any, may be available in relation to account holders." The notice explicitly flagged that a formal insolvency process could follow, in which case the treatment of customer balances would be governed by that process.

AscendEX told customers to stop making new deposits, verify their balances, keep KYC information current and route all questions through its support email rather than individual staff. The exchange said it plans to issue further updates once more detail is available.

The notice does not name the counterparty behind the failed liquidity transaction, and AscendEX could not be independently reached beyond its published statement.